Has anyone else had a problem contacting Pensac... I have left 2 phone messages and sent two emails with no response... I realize this is most likely not his only from of income and he probably works in the real world also.

I never had trouble contacting them. I've recieved a bunch of orders from them. I wonder if something is going on. Have you tried the toll free number, the regular number? How about faxing? When you call, remember that they're 3 hours behind EST (I forget where you are and I'm too lazy to check)

You can also order from Woodbin. He's in Canada and even though he sends out the orders right away, sometimes shipping can take some time. But he's great to deal with: http://www.simcom.on.ca/woodbin/

If you want to pay a bit more, there's always Pendemonium and Fountain pen hospital. Super service and response from both.

By the way. I recommend you get an assortment (well ok, Richard recommends this and I agree with him). The sizes on charts are often wrong.

We also have sacs, both Latex and Silicone, as well as vacumatic diaphragms.
Check out our prices, we guarantee our sacs against defects and premature decay.
We have the largest pen repair supplies catalog on the WWW!
Tryphon Pen Repair Catalog

oops, sorry Gio. I forgot that you carry sacs now. Not to mention all the other stuff you now carry. I wish you had all that stuff when I was starting out with repairs!

I have to follow up and agree that Tryphon is really tops right now as they have all of the necessary supplies in one place. I got sacs, talc and shellac in one order and now 6 vintage pens are back in good working order. The worst part about it is resisting the temptation to pick up a heat gun, loupe, pliers, picks, knockout block, inner cap puller and micromesh kit while you're at it.

The simple (really, really simple) enjoyment of restoring a pen to working order is such that I might have to go troll eBay for Wearever's right now just so I can re-sac them when they get here Indeed, I've been writing all day with a neat little Majestic lever-filler that I re-sacced last night. I swear I could wax rhapsodic about those fine 14K nibs from the days when fountain pens were just "pens" and I wasn't even born yet.

NMB,
You are absolutely right on the button. It's great fun getting an old pen and restoring. I take great pleasure and pride in turning what is basically a bit of plastic and metal into a fine writing instrument.
I must work on nib pollishing though, my main weakness at the moment.
The tryphon stuff looks great and myself and a friend will be combining an order soon. It's really neat to get ALL of the bits needed from one place especially ordering from overseas.
Now if we could only get the G10 !.
Gary

I faxed an order in on Friday (1/20) and received my order yesterday (1/26) so there is someone there. However, I was not able to get through on the phone.

John

Tryphon sells a fine knockout block, but you can easily make one as well. I made mine from a small block of maple that I picked up at the local woodworking store scrap pile for a few bucks - drill several holes in it of different sizes and get some short wooden dowels for punches.

John